How much harder is AS French than GCSE French?
I got an A* in French at GCSE using my own know,edge and help from my mum who is French, I'm just worried that as I never had lessons at school I might not be able to handle AS as well. What kind of things do you learn/do??
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French isn't that hard in my opinion. I would say it is a lil harder at A-level compared to GCSE level.
Original post by AtomicAJ
I got an A* in French at GCSE using my own know,edge and help from my mum who is French, I'm just worried that as I never had lessons at school I might not be able to handle AS as well. What kind of things do you learn/do??
Not to worry you, but I got an A* at gcse too (I got an A* in all units), did the AS and got an E... 4 out of the 9 people in my class got a U and only 1 person got a B
If you do take french at AS be prepared to work VERY HARD, I could definitely have put more work into it but they were still very hard exams, even our teacher admitted it was hard to do well in, and we had a lot of year 13s resitting their AS exams.
p.s. my mum is also french, fat lot of good that did me
(edited 8 years ago)
In contrast to above, I scraped an A* at GCSE, didn't do much work at AS, and got a very high A.
I'd say AS is definitely a step up in what you actually have to do, but if you know your grammar, it's super easy to do well in.
GCSE is no measure though, I sucked at it, scraped As in the exams...
I'd say AS is definitely a step up in what you actually have to do, but if you know your grammar, it's super easy to do well in.
GCSE is no measure though, I sucked at it, scraped As in the exams...
Original post by L'Evil Fish
In contrast to above, I scraped an A* at GCSE, didn't do much work at AS, and got a very high A.
I'd say AS is definitely a step up in what you actually have to do, but if you know your grammar, it's super easy to do well in.
GCSE is no measure though, I sucked at it, scraped As in the exams...
I'd say AS is definitely a step up in what you actually have to do, but if you know your grammar, it's super easy to do well in.
GCSE is no measure though, I sucked at it, scraped As in the exams...
maybe my sixth form is just s*** at teaching french then given this years low pass rate
what exam board were you with for french as?
Original post by stressedperson02
maybe my sixth form is just s*** at teaching french then given this years low pass rate
what exam board were you with for french as?
what exam board were you with for french as?
WJEC for me!
Were you AQA/Edexcel?
Original post by L'Evil Fish
WJEC for me!
Were you AQA/Edexcel?
Were you AQA/Edexcel?
ah I was with aqa, thinking of retaking it
Original post by stressedperson02
ah I was with aqa, thinking of retaking it
Oh you're going into year 13? I'd say only retake if you need it
Original post by yasmin#2
WJEC pas mal, but for AS you actually have to know your stuff (grammar etc)
not that bad , got an A
not that bad , got an A
I think that's why I did decently at AS, had to know some grammar properly
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Oh you're going into year 13? I'd say only retake if you need it
Nope think I'm going to resit year 12 but carry on english language as I got an A and that was my only good grade aha, so I'm going to pick up 3 new AS, thinking sociology and english lit because my teachers think I'll do well in them but would quite like to do a language so either french again or spanish (have gcses in them both and got A*s in both so idk which to do yet)
Original post by stressedperson02
Nope think I'm going to resit year 12 but carry on english language as I got an A and that was my only good grade aha, so I'm going to pick up 3 new AS, thinking sociology and english lit because my teachers think I'll do well in them but would quite like to do a language so either french again or spanish (have gcses in them both and got A*s in both so idk which to do yet)
I think Spanish is easier as a language but French you have experience with so think about it
I got 100% in my French GCSE and then of course decided to take it at a level. THE WORST DECISION OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. If you don't speak french this subject is next to impossible to get over a C in. This is due to the fact that most people that take french are fluent and therefore get the majority of the paper correct so the grade boundaries get SO HIGH. The classes are also boring af, learning about grammar and verbs all day made me wanna blow my brains out. I wish more than anything that I didn't take French at A Level. I got my results back and I got three A's and a C in French despite working my ass off. SAVE YOURSELF. DO NOT TAKE FRENCH A LEVEL.
Original post by Salmon33
I got 100% in my French GCSE and then of course decided to take it at a level. THE WORST DECISION OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. If you don't speak french this subject is next to impossible to get over a C in. This is due to the fact that most people that take french are fluent and therefore get the majority of the paper correct so the grade boundaries get SO HIGH. The classes are also boring af, learning about grammar and verbs all day made me wanna blow my brains out. I wish more than anything that I didn't take French at A Level. I got my results back and I got three A's and a C in French despite working my ass off. SAVE YOURSELF. DO NOT TAKE FRENCH A LEVEL.
I so get this french was my best gcse now it's my worst AS lmao, I know some people in another sixth form who had actual french kids in their class who just dominated the lessons, what else did you study? 3 As is so good
Don't let the difficulty put you off. Yes it is difficult but it is very rewarding to progress in a language. I got a B at GCSE and a C at AS. As long as you are willing to put the work in, go for it!
As for what you study, I was with AQA and we did topics like TV, Cinema, Fashion, Marriage, Sport, Healthy Eating etc. At my college, we have 3 90 minute lessons a week and each one was structured. Lesson one would be learning vocab for the topic of the week as well as reviewing the last week's work. Lesson two was always to practice listening exercises from past papers on the topic of the week. Then lesson three was tests on vocab, the grammar point/tense of the week and practicing essay writing. Generally French (and all language) classes tend to be smaller than other classes and I really enjoyed the closely knit group of people - we all helped each other and it was great.
As for what you study, I was with AQA and we did topics like TV, Cinema, Fashion, Marriage, Sport, Healthy Eating etc. At my college, we have 3 90 minute lessons a week and each one was structured. Lesson one would be learning vocab for the topic of the week as well as reviewing the last week's work. Lesson two was always to practice listening exercises from past papers on the topic of the week. Then lesson three was tests on vocab, the grammar point/tense of the week and practicing essay writing. Generally French (and all language) classes tend to be smaller than other classes and I really enjoyed the closely knit group of people - we all helped each other and it was great.
AS French is a massive step up from GCSE. GCSE's all just rote learning - AS is a lot harder because you're expected to construct arguments and have a pretty good understanding of grammar etc, answer comprehension questions in french etc. Much bigger step up than any of the sciences/maths. That aside though, it is immensely rewarding 
Original post by AtomicAJ
I got an A* in French at GCSE using my own know,edge and help from my mum who is French, I'm just worried that as I never had lessons at school I might not be able to handle AS as well. What kind of things do you learn/do??
I had a bit of a shock, GCSE is a walk in the park compared to AS. It is a big step up, but it is entirely possible to do exceptionally well in it. Good luck!
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